subject: Plugged Into Music, Always [print this page] I was shopping for halloween candy last month when this kid I was standing by in the candy aisle was singing this terrible song about death, I just looked at him, he was oblivious that he was even singing out loud. Again, last week I was at work, where I am a receptionist, and a woman in her mid-twenties came in singing with her i-pod even when I asked if I could help her, she just kept right on singing. Weird! I hope this isn't a growing trend.
I love music, but I don't need to be inundated with it constantly, I like peace and quiet just fine. My kids are into drums, acoustics guitars, acoustic electric guitars, pianos, keyboards and just about anything that keeps a beat and produces sound. Its a great creative outlet. The creating I don't have a problem with, its being constantly hooked up to music that I do. I wonder if kids ever have a quiet moment to reflect or think or ponder life and the day to day events. If you have a never ending stream of noise, seems like it would be hard to meditate on what you want out of life, how your relationships are going, and particularly difficult to get your homework done. I watch our 17 year old sit down to write an essay for school with music playing in the background. He wonders why it takes him an hour to get a few sentences written. You can only think one thought at a time, if the music is constant it isn't hard to figure out why your struggling to contrast and compare Romeo and Juliet with West Side Story.
What is the music of this generation? There seems to be more extremes and more diversity than in the past. The teens that pass through our house are very diverse in their music, from rock to country to alternative to hip hop. They all like chill music for winding down, the Jack Johnson and the Dave Matthew Band. With itunes and other easy access, the list is huge and varied, which is a good thing. Our kids even listen to the rock from the seventies that we grew up on. It will be interesting to see what music defines this generation. Or maybe they will be defined as the generation just plugged in!
